INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States mention one case of a ship-to-ship transfer involving a Russian-flagged shipUnited Nations: The United States accused
North Korea on Thursday of breaching a U.N
sanctions cap on refined petroleum by making illicit transfers between ships at sea, according to a document seen by Reuters, and demanded
an immediate end to all sales of the fuel.The United States submitted the complaint to the U.N
Security Council North Korea sanctions committee
The charge of a sanctions breach comes as Washington engages North Korea in a bid to convince Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.The
mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the U.S
North Korea relies on imported fuel to keep its struggling economy functioning.The United States said that as of May 30, 89 North Korean
tankers had brought in refined petroleum products illicitly obtained in ship-to-ship transfers this year.The United States did not broadly
say which countries it believed were illicitly providing North Korea with refined petroleum
But it does mention one case of a ship-to-ship transfer involving a Russian-flagged ship and one case involving a Belize-flagged
ship.Reuters in December reported that Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea by transferring cargoes at sea.The 15-member
Security Council capped refined petroleum product exports to North Korea at 500,000 barrels a year in December, down from a previous limit,
adopted in September, of 2 million barrels a year.According to the Security Council North Korea sanctions committee website, only Russia and
China have reported legitimate sales of some 14,000 tons of refined petroleum to North Korea in 2018."These sales and any other transfer
must immediately stop since the United States believes the DPRK has breached the refined petroleum products quota for 2018," the United
States said in a document submitted to the committee, using an acronym for North Korea.The United States provided a list to the Security
Council committee of the 89 North Korean tankers and a few select photos, seen by Reuters."If fully loaded at around 90 percent laden, DPRK
tankers have delivered nearly triple the 2018 quota at 1,367,628 barrels," the United States said.It asked the North Korea sanctions
committee to issue an urgent note to all U.N
member states notifying them that North Korea has breached the refined petroleum cap and order an immediate halt to all transfers.The U.N
Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and
ballistic missile programs, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined
petroleum products.In March the council blacklisted dozens of ships and shipping companies over oil and coal smuggling by North Korea. ©
Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a
